CWA Mourns the Death of Young TU Activist

Our union brother Richard Blake Poindexter passed away last week. He had been suffering from flu-like symptoms, slipped into a coma and died the next day. Blake, as he was known to friends, co-workers and fellow activists, was 27 years old.

Blake Poindexter, a TU activist who had just been named a CWA Special Assignment Organizer, will be remembered by TU and CWAers for his commitment to justice and workers' rights.

Beloved by co-workers and fellow activists alike, Blake was a customer service representative at the T-Mobile Frisco, Texas, technical support center. Following the loss of his job, after the company closed seven call centers in 2012, Blake rallied co-workers from the closed call centers and worked with CWA in gaining Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits for the 3,300 T-Mobile USA workers.

Blake touched many lives as he took on an increasingly activist role, including addressing the CWA Legislative Political Conference in May 2014 and the Deutsche Telekom annual meeting in Cologne, Germany in 2012. Condolences came from as far away as Germany, where Blake had connected with members of ver.di, the union representing workers at Deutsche Telekom, which owns majority shares in T-Mobile USA. ver.di's leadership expressed their sorrow in a letter:

All of us are in a state of deep shock since we learned about Blake's sudden death. Many of us have known him personally for a long time. His calm and thoughtful manner was dear to us...We are all greatly saddened by this enormous loss and we feel with you and his family and offer our most heartfelt condolences.

Because of his skills and unwavering commitment, CWA hired Blake as a local organizer to work at various locations – Wichita, Mission, and Springfield. Just this month, he became a Special Assignment Organizer.

"Blake raised his voice for fairness and justice and helped rally T-Mobile workers around the cause of workers' rights," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "Blake will be remembered across our union and across the Atlantic by thousands of members of the German union ver.di who were inspired by him and other TU activists to stand up for the rights of T-Mobile US workers. We will honor his memory by fighting on."